Week Six Readings

WEEK SIX READINGS

I believe the key message from the week six reading was the importance of crisis control programs and policies to ensure minimum damage and effective management in times of a crisis. As well as the Crisis Management Preparation, that is what needs to be done to effectively control a crisis for example a responsible and capable crisis management team.

The messages can be applied to my group work through the readings highlighted many things that an organization can do to prepare for a potential crisis, communicate during a crisis, and rebuild relationships with publics after a crisis. My group can take these things into account when writing our PR plan for Toastmasters.

The readings made me think more about public relations in practice as they provided examples of how public relations managers can integrate new communication media into their mix of communication tactics in crisis and risk management. For example using the internet as, it offers organizations the opportunity to communicate their message without media imposed filters. It allows for feedback and gives an organization the opportunity to give their side of a crisis. The reading on Direct Relief International gave a practical example of a crisis management. The organization provides resources to health programs in areas affected by disasters. It made clear how communication structures tend to flatten in a crisis for e.g. Hurricane Katrina.

The reading related to reading I have done in previous weeks as they demonstrated key roles and functions within an organization. However related highlighted the roles and responsibilities in times of crisis such as roles of team leaders, operations and recovery sections of the organization.

WEEK FIVE READINGS:

I believe the key messages from this week’s readings were the importance of successful internal and community public relations. The values truth, honest and communication need to be embraced with internal stakeholders and members of the community. Staff morale and good will needs to be established through internal public relations in order to achieve job satisfaction and productivity. Good internal public relations ensure staff are kept happy, loyal, safe and informed. Successful community PR needs to be maintained in order to achieve a good image for the organisation as well as helping to achieve the financial bottom line of the business.

The messages can be applied to my group work as my group can adopt a flat organisation structure within our group. This will allow for the communication of ideas and problems with all members of the group. We will also keep the triple bottom line as an important focus of our plan to ensure we are keeping a social focus and not damaging our organisations reputation. The private hospital adding value case study and the 2030 case study provided an example of a PR plan with a community focus, our group will be able to use this as an example and model for our own PR plan. It will help with layout as well strategies and evaluation.

The readings made me think more about public relations in practice as they gave practical examples of how to achieve good internal and community public relations. Internal for example: notice boards, memos, awards, events and face to face community. Community for example: consultations, scanning the environment, collaboration with community groups and negotiation.

The reading related to reading I have done in previous weeks as they expanded on important public relations. They moved away from a business to business type focus and included the internal and community public relation.

WEEK 4

WEEK 4 READINGS: 12 / 03/2007

I believe the key messages from this week’s readings were that dealing with the media is a crucial role that must be undertaken by a PR practitioner and how it plays a key role in various aspects of the public relations industry for example publicity. The readings highlighted the reliance of the media on the public relations industry as well as the need for media by the public relations industry. The readings made clear how the media can be used by organisations in the reporting of activities, raising public awareness, influencing public opinion and gaining support for interests or causes. Another key message explored was the need for news to be aligned with media values and newsworthiness and the difficulties encountered by non for profit organizations in receiving positive news.


The key points in the reading can be applied to my group work as it helped give me ideas on how to use the media to enhance the position of an organization. My group can also take on board the choice of media type to suit the target audience of our organisation for example our groups organization is the wine, we may choose a wine lifestyle magazine to reach our audience. The ability to work to deadlines was also discussed; my group will need to take this on board as we will be working to meet deadlines, such as the due date of our PR plan.

The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice as it highlighted the type of media work that public relations practitioners take on. For example media releases written in the inverted pyramid style and the organization of press conferences.

The readings related to the other reading I’ve done in previous weeks as they further explained the role of the public relations practitioner in the workforce. They made clear the key roles and activities that PR practitioners undertake.

WEEK THREE READINGS: 2/03/07 I believe the key messages from this week’s readings were the importance of good research throughout an entire Public Relations plan and how this research is applied to the PR process. I also thought the ethical considerations in research (although not in depthly) mention was a key message to take out of the readings. It highlighted the importance of academic honesty, the need to avoid plagiarism and to acknowledge sources to create an original piece. The key points in the reading can be applied to my group work by following the online tutorials guide to evaluating sources. This will ensure that my group has valid, credible, authoritive and useful information from academic sources. The numerous methods of research discussed have given me a wider knowledge of methods my group could use to research our company rather than just primary sources such as online journal articles. The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that they made me aware of the qualities needed by a PR manager in the real workforce. These qualities were strategic thinking, problem solving and sound judgement. The readings related to the other reading I’ve done in previous weeks. Although I am new to communications this year, my previous course also focused on the importance of honest research, so this weeks reading refreshed my memory on academic honesty, but also expanded upon research methods that can be employed.